Wire fence



(No Model.)

D. W. WEISER.

WIRE FENCE.

Patented Sept. 9, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID WM. VVEISER, OF DUPONT, OI-IIO.

WIRE FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,279, datedSeptember 9, 1890.

Application filed December 10, 1889. Serial No. 333,266- (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID WM. WEIsER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dupont, in the county of Putnam and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in fire Fences; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to produce a cheap, secure, and durablewire fence; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described andpointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of severalpanels of my improved fence, the diameter of the post being exaggeratedwith respect to its height for clearness of illustration. Fig. 2 is aperspective of a single post-supporting section of wire and the wirefastenings therefor. Fig. 3 is a detail of one form of fastening. Fig.4is a horizontal section of a post on an enlarged scale.

I make the posts 1 of iron rods about onehalf inch in diameter and setthem in blocks 2, of wood or stone, about one and a half feet wide,three feet long, and seven inches thick, thelength of the blocks beingplaced crosswise of the fence. These blocks can also be made each partlyof iron and the rest of wood, or they may be made of concrete or anysuitable material. Four and a half to five feet is a suitable length forthe posts it the blocks are placed with their upper surfaces on a levelwith the top of the ground, as I generally prefer. The posts may be setabout eight feet apart and braced, as indicated at 3, once inforty-eight feet, or oftener.

The body or intermediate part of each linewire is secured to the postsby inserting it in a crescent-shaped out or kerf 4: and then twistingtransversely about the post and linewire at their junction one or morebinding- Wires 5, said wires also resting in the cut or groove. Afterthe bindingwire is passed about the post and line-wire its ends arebrought together and tightly twisted, thereby drawing all parts of it inclose contact with the parts to be bound.

Bands for analogous uses are not new, but

heretofore they have not been applied in a manner to prevent them frombecoming loose or from being moved on the posts by the weight of wires,or by the rubbing of animals, or in other ways.

In my construction each line-wire rests upon a shoulder atthe bottom ofthe cutnear its deepest point and has thereon a vertical support, and itis securely held upon this seat by the binding-wires, both wires beingsolidly held by the clinch of a lip 6,formed when the groove is made,which lip is forced down upon them. Thus bound and held, the wires arenot liable to be moved out of place,'the cut or groove formed in thepost being of peculiar shape and especially adapted to form a bed orseat for both wires. This groove is produced by an approximatelycrescent-shaped tool, which is forced upon and into the surface of thepost in a downward direction, thereby producing'a cut substantially asindicated in the drawings. As will be seen, it extends around the postin a downward direction, so that the line-wire may rest in itat itscenter or deepest part, and the bindingwire at or near its extremity 7.The groove is therefore adapted to receive both wires, and its form issuch that it does not unnecessarily weaken the post, as would anordinary cut, or such as would be made by a straight-edged tool.

Two binding-wires may be employed, as shown in Fig. 1. In such case thegroove or cut is formed to be symmetrically disposed about the post, itsextremities 7 both being directed as shown in Fig. 1. Each bindingwirein such construction rests in an extremity 7 of the groove at the sideof the post and both are supported and fastened therein. If but onebinding-wire were employed, it would of course lie in it on one sideonly of the post. To give a single binding-wire a seat in the groove onboth sides of the post, it may be cut, as indicated in Fig. 2, obliquelywith one extremity above the line-wire and with the other on theopposite side of the post below the same. In such construction thebinding-wire will be provided with a depressed seat on both sides of thepost, one above and one below the seat of the line-wire. When the wireshave been bound in place by twisting the @binding-wire or binding-wires,the raised lip of the groove is forced or swaged down upon themsubstantially as shown, thereby effectually obviating all danger of thewires slipping on the post. Such slipping is highly objectionable, andis very liable to occur unless thoroughly guarded against, as by myimprovement, which, as before stated, obviates the evil and without thenecessity of weakening the post excessively, as would be the case by asingle straight out sufficient to form a seat both for the line andbinding wires.

8 indicates a coupling-plate perforated to receive the ends ofline-wires which are to be secured therein, and 9 indicates wirecouplings for a similar purpose, and either form can be employed, thoughthe plate is preferred, except at a fence-corner. A cut, substantiallyas above set forth, except that it is made horizontal, or nearly so, isformed at a proper point on the post. The plate is then slipped over thetop of the post and moved down, so as to rest in the seat therebyformed.

In Fig. l is shown a means of securing it firmly in a seat. Downwardcuts are formed on one or both sides of the post adapted to receive thedownturned edges 10 of the plate, and such edges are firmly secured byforcing or swaging the lips of the cut down upon the flanges. The wirecouplings are secured in similar manner. When the lower plate has beenthus secured, suitable cuts or grooves for each higher coupling can bemade and the plate or wire couplings similarly secured therein. 11indicates a rail which is placed on the upper end of the posts, the endsof the rails being fitted to the posts and the ends to each other-andspliced, substantially as represented. This rail is made with adownturned flange, or with two such flanges, as represented, one or bothof which may be supported by a lip raised by cutting the post, whichlip, if desired, can be swaged down upon-the flange. The head of thepost will ordinarily be upset sufficiently to prevent the rail frombeing lifted off the post, and the above described lip prevents itsdescent thereon.

A fence can be cheaply constructed as above described which willwithstand the action of winds and frosts and the ordinary rubbing ofcattle without vertical displacement of the wires, and which will bevery suitable for most of the uses of such structure.

Heretofore fence-wires have been secured to angular posts by swaging,and such construction is not broadly of my invention. The presentimprovement applies to cylindrical posts in which it is difficult toproduce a sufiicient kerf or slot to securelyhold a wire without undulyweakening the post. If the kerf or out be made sufficiently large toembrace the whole wire with certainty at every point of contact, a smallor moderate-sized post of cylindrical cross-section is impracticable. Onthe other hand, if a fasteningwire alone be use, it, together with thelinewire, is liable to slip down and also be rubbed or borne up or downon such post. My improvement utilizes both the kerf (orswaging) and thewire, the former serving as a vertical support for both the line andbinding wires. The binding-Wire serves to prevent the displacing of theline-wire, even though the swaging is in some instances insuflicient ordefective, and as it also enters the kerf or notch it is therebysecurely held from being moved either up or down by the rubbing of stockor the thrusting of heads or bodies between the wires or the climbing ofpersons. My slot, of approximately crescent shape or some equivalent, isrequired to pre- Vent the displacement of the binding-wire. As in effectstated, the slot or swaging alone is not sufficient, and particularly inthecase of posts made of comparatively small cylindrical rods, becauseof the liability of the line-wires to be lifted out of the same by forcewhen it is accidentally defective in manufacture or when the forceapplied is sufficient in the absence of such defect; and thebinding-wire alone is insufficient, particularly on posts such asdescribed, from its liability to slip; and, furthermore, it would notact efficiently to prevent slip in case of the failure of the swaging,unless it was entered into a slot or notch in the post, as by myimprovement.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by LettersPatent is- 1. In a fence, the posts made of rods and provided with lipsnear their tops, in combination with rails having downturned flangesembracing the sides of the post and resting on lips formed by cuts inthe post, said lips being swaged upon the flanges, substantially as setforth.

2. In a fence, a cylindrical post provided with a crescent-shapedgroove, a line-wire resting on a seat midway between the ends of thegroove, and bound by wires that also rest in the same groove at its endsand on each side of the post, the several wires being held by the lip ofthe groove compressed upon them, substantially as set forth.

3. In a fence, a line-wire resting in a seat formed by an obliquegroove, the extremities of which are one above and the other below saidline-wire, and bound by a wire resting in said groove 011 two sides ofthe post, both above and below the line-wire, substantially as' setforth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID WM. WEISER.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL SPITSVALE, J. O. MYERS.

